March 1, 2008 - Along with several other OmegaCon guests, I'll be interviewed for Bright House Cable TV's "Dean and Company" which airs Monday nights at 7:30PM on Channel 4
March 11, 2008 - The official release date for STAKED. We're having a publication party at a great venue- the Historic Rucker Place- with live music from the fabulous Hunter Lawley Trio, lots of great appetizers, and a huge guest list. Each room of the spectacular historic house will have a different theme- it's going to be really cool. Also, I'm supposed to give a two minute speech around 6 PM. (Send me an email if you'll be in town and would like to be invited.)
March 14-16 - OmegaCon hits Birmingham's downtown Sheraton with a really amazing literary track. I'm scheduled to appear on panels with Sherrilyn Kenyon, Lou Anders, Bill Drinkard, and lots of other great folks. Books-A-Million has promised to stock the books of all the guest authors and will have ten tables in the dealers' room. I'm sure there will also be time for signing books... more about that as soon as I get the details.
March 22 – Big book signing at Little Professor in Homewood! The folks at Little Professor are very, very nice and are hosting a book signing for me on Saturday March 22.
Thursday, February 28, 2008
Sunday, February 17, 2008
Another Good Review!
Check out my review from the Library Journal:
"Lewis, J.F. Staked. Pocket Bks: S. & S. Mar. 2008. c.352p. ISBN 978-1-4165-4780-8. pap. $14. FANTASY
The hero of Lewis's humorous debut is Eric, a vampire having a bad week, with a poor memory and raging blackouts. In the midst of a rough tantrum, he realizes he has torn off the head of a fellow undead, but he can't remember who the victim is or why he killed him. As the story continues, however, Eric proves to be a much nicer guy than the opening would suggest. With a host of interesting characters—the elderly human Marilyn, the greatest love of Eric's life; Tabitha, the stripper-turned-vampire who loves Eric; evangelical werewolf William, who erroneously believes Eric killed his son; and Roger, co-owner with Eric of the Demon Heart Strip Club—this is a fast-paced story with a heady mixture of humor, violence, and sex. Recommended for large fantasy collections."
http://www.libraryjournal.com/article/CA6529602.html
That seems like a pretty good review.
J
Friday, February 15, 2008
Wow! This All Takes A Long Time Part III
So... my last timeline brought us up to November 25th, so of course now I need to back up a step and include something I left out:
November 17th, 2007 - I found out that Erica Feldon was the publicist for STAKED. (She's absolutely great, BTW... and if you notice that I keep saying that about everyone, it's because I've been very fortunate!)
November 19th, 2007 - Author Questionnaire (See previous timeline)
Novmber 25, 2007 - Sent back filled out Author Questionnaire.
November 27th, 2007 - Got permission to post the cover art for STAKED to my blog and my website.
November 28th, 2007 - Got feedback from Jennifer assuring me that yes, I did give them the info that they were looking for when I filled out the Author Questionnaire.
December... I don't have any specific manuscript type details listed for December. I was working, though. I made a list of three hundred bookstores that I could get to with moderate ease so that I could contact them for possible signings in 2008. I also sent off some Christmas gifts, fought with my laptop, and took on the job of Pressbook editor for the SFWA.
January 5, 2008 - STAKED got its first review, a favorable one from Don D'ammassa about which I, my friends, my family, my agent, my editor, and my publicist were all suitable thrilled.
January 22, 2008 - I found out that the print run for STAKED was 15,000 copies, which is about three thousand copies more than I had theorized and "a respectable trade paperback genre number."
January 31, 2008 - Some slight weirdness happened with my Amazon.com listing. The description of the book was added, but it was followed by the bulk of the text from the first chapter. (As an asided, the great folks over a Pocket are working on getting it fixed. There's nothing hideously wrong, it just makes it take a really long time to scroll all the way down past the description.)
Somewhere in there, I also found out that my in-laws were going to throw me an Author Debut party on the day my book comes out.
A little after that, some of the bookmarks we'd ordered came in along with my new business cards and some fridge magnets. :)
February 12, 2008 - A day thaat shall live in infamy. Four copies of the final product were waiting for me on the front porch.
And that pretty much brings us up to date.
Best,
J
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
IT'S A BOOK!!!
In a very Pavlovian type reaction, I am now conditioned to get very excited when I see tan/orange DHL envelopes sitting on my porch. So far, they have brought me: copyedited manuscipts for my perusal, ARCs (Advanced Reader Copies), cover flats, and on February 12th, 2008, they brought me my novel. Four copies of the final product.
If you're not a writer, I'm not sure that I can fully explain what it feels like to hold your novel for the first time. I'm embarassed to say that it was only a half step removed from the way it felt to hold my boys when they were born. The experience was just that visceral, that primal. All along the way, I plagued myself with little doubts and fears: Sure, Jeremy, you have an agent, but she'll come to her senses and get rid of you anytime now... Okay, so an editor wants to buy the novel, but she'll never get the purchase approved... Alright, it's was approved but they'll never accept the final version...
Perhaps every writer does not feel those same inner doubts, but I did and I do, and I lack the words to explain what it feels like each and every time those doubts get smashed aside and proven wrong. Holding the finished version made me want to unleash a very Dead Poet Society-esque "Viking Yawp." I didn't, because my flu-stricken wife and youngest son were both napping, but it echoed on the inside for a few days, even though it never came out.
You want to know something though... when I sent out the proposed sequel to my agent, the same doubts I had on the first one reappeared. Here's hoping that they, too, are banished with decisiveness.
Best,
J
If you're not a writer, I'm not sure that I can fully explain what it feels like to hold your novel for the first time. I'm embarassed to say that it was only a half step removed from the way it felt to hold my boys when they were born. The experience was just that visceral, that primal. All along the way, I plagued myself with little doubts and fears: Sure, Jeremy, you have an agent, but she'll come to her senses and get rid of you anytime now... Okay, so an editor wants to buy the novel, but she'll never get the purchase approved... Alright, it's was approved but they'll never accept the final version...
Perhaps every writer does not feel those same inner doubts, but I did and I do, and I lack the words to explain what it feels like each and every time those doubts get smashed aside and proven wrong. Holding the finished version made me want to unleash a very Dead Poet Society-esque "Viking Yawp." I didn't, because my flu-stricken wife and youngest son were both napping, but it echoed on the inside for a few days, even though it never came out.
You want to know something though... when I sent out the proposed sequel to my agent, the same doubts I had on the first one reappeared. Here's hoping that they, too, are banished with decisiveness.
Best,
J
Thursday, February 7, 2008
OmegaCon
OmegaCon is coming March 14-16, 2008 at Sheraton Birmingham... three days after my book comes out. How's that for timing? Check out the website here.
It has been a long time since Birmingham has had a local science fiction/fantasy convention and I hope it does well. We certainly have cool guests (myself included). The Literary guests cover the whole spectrum from David Drake, Ben Bova, Eric Flint, Alan Dean Foster, David Weber, Steven Brust, Sherrilyn Kenyon and tons more. I am currently scheduled to be on a panel about vampires with Sherrilyn Kenyon, on a panel about blogging with Lou Anders, and on a panel about working full time while writing with Bill Drinkard, another local Birmingham author whose book Elom comes out one week before Staked.
The last meeting before the con is happening February 16th and in the Atrium of the site hotel, and anyone who is interested in volunteering at the con should be there (if they are over 18). I know I will.
J
It has been a long time since Birmingham has had a local science fiction/fantasy convention and I hope it does well. We certainly have cool guests (myself included). The Literary guests cover the whole spectrum from David Drake, Ben Bova, Eric Flint, Alan Dean Foster, David Weber, Steven Brust, Sherrilyn Kenyon and tons more. I am currently scheduled to be on a panel about vampires with Sherrilyn Kenyon, on a panel about blogging with Lou Anders, and on a panel about working full time while writing with Bill Drinkard, another local Birmingham author whose book Elom comes out one week before Staked.
The last meeting before the con is happening February 16th and in the Atrium of the site hotel, and anyone who is interested in volunteering at the con should be there (if they are over 18). I know I will.
J
Saturday, February 2, 2008
Nintendo Ate My Brain
It's true. My sons got LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga on the Wii for Christmas (not to mention versions for their DS Lites) and I have found myself completely sucked into the game.... so much so, that I absolutely can't wait for LEGO Indiana Jones. Being able to build custom characters is just too much fun! I've taken to running through levels trying to reach 100% completion for the game with my darkside lightsaber-toting Jawa.
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